In 2010, soon after his elevation to the position of Deputy Prime minister Nick Clegg gave what now looks like an overly-ambitious speech, comparing the Coalition’s programme of political reforms to the Reform Act of 1832 – here began an era of ‘new politics’.
In hindsight, it reads like it was written during a rush of blood to the head – many of the changes proposed in it were too controversial to proceed as predicted under coalition conditions. House of Lords reform was predictably derailed by Tory backbenchers, the Great British public convincingly decided against changes to the voting system, and boundary changes were blocked in Parliament (turkeys, Christmas and all that).
The ‘new politics’ that did emerge had little to do with constitutional reforms and everything to do with voters, across Europe, rejecting the offer of established political parties, transferring their support to those seeking to disrupt the status quo. In 2014, we saw the rise of the SNP precipitated by an independence referendum campaign, and UKIP’s victory in the European elections.
If the current polls are to be relied upon (a big if), then the Liberal Democrats look like they may suffer the hardest blows on 7 May. They committed the cardinal sin of having run on a reform ticket and then become firmly ensconced in the establishment - inspiring, then disapointing. Clegg himself may lose his seat.
How are mainstream parties responding? In one sense, they’re not. Now, perhaps, is not the time when any energy would be directed towards soul-searching – they’re engaged in a scrabble for a ‘dodgy 1-0 away win’, as Jon Cruddas MP has put it. Labour took a core-vote approach, which may or may not have worked but for the travails as Scottish Labour, or for that matter the travails of the Labour Party anywhere south of Birmingham. The Conservative campaign is a model of ‘Lyntonisation’ (repeat after me: “long term economic plan” and “don’t let Labour wreck it”).
In another sense, there have been interesting periods of reflection and recalibration, often rooted in Christian thinking. These may well take hold properly after 7 May, depending on whether the result seems to prop up the status quo ante, or blows it completely out of the water. One thing the Coalition has done is demonstrate that the left and right dichotomy no longer really describes contemporary political psychology. Liberal and post-liberal, localist and centralist, national(ist) or cosmopolitan – these are probably more useful terms now.
In the run-up to election day, we’re running some blogs on political realignment. What are the prospects for Blue Labour? What is the Good Right? Will Green politics achieve a breakthrough? Will the nationalists, of the Scottish or English variety, carry the day? And what do all these things mean for the next stage in British politics?
First up, Blue Labour.
Paul Bickley
Image by Paul Walker from flickr.com under the Creative Commons Licence.
